


Forgive and Forget

by amy_lupin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: And some serious kissing, Drinking, Gambling, M/M, PA Merlin, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 08:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13003437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amy_lupin/pseuds/amy_lupin
Summary: Merlin has challenged his boss' authority several times in the past, but this time he's sure Arthur won’t forgive him. The good news is that Merlin isn’t the only one who messed up. The bad news is that Gwaine had a Great Idea™.





	Forgive and Forget

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you **Lexi** for the superfast editing!

Merlin rang the bell and then shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited, checking his phone every five seconds.

"Merlin!" Gwaine cried out as he answered the door. "Come in, come in." He opened the door wider, gesturing for Merlin to follow him in.

"Er..." Merlin said, peering inside. "Is Arthur already here?"

"Not yet. You're the first to arrive, by the way. Come on, I'll send a message to the guys." Gwaine retreated to the living room to turn down the telly and pick up his own phone from the couch, leaving Merlin with no choice but to enter and close the door behind him. "There's beer in the fridge, please help yourself to some, Merlin. Why are they taking so long, anyway? They’re usually here before the warm up."

Merlin shrugged. "Dunno."

Merlin startled when his phone buzzed, but he breathed out in relief at realizing it was only Gwaine messaging everybody about their whereabouts, not bothering to exclude Merlin from the list. They took turns watching each match of the Premier League at everyone's flats, and it was Gwaine's turn hosting.

"Aren't you gonna have something to drink?" Gwaine asked when he noticed Merlin was still standing by the hall. "Honestly, Merlin, how many times do I have to tell you to make yourself at home? Are you afraid of opening my fridge, is that it? I promise there's nothing rotten this time, I checked last week."

"No, it's nothing like that." Merlin shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, actually, I just came by to tell you I can't stay for the game today. I have... this thing I really need to do and–"

"Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute," Gwaine interrupted him, walking over to Merlin, wrapping a hand around his shoulders and pulling him toward the kitchen. "Come on, tell me what's going on while those dreadfully rude people don't bother to show up."

"No, Gwaine, I really–" Merlin tried to resist, but Gwaine pulled him harder.

"All right, how about a few tequila shots, then? I must have a bottle here somewhere..."

Sighing, Merlin sat down at one of the stools in the kitchen and waited while Gwaine retrieved a bottle from the cupboard, glancing at his phone every other second.

"Now tell me, what's got you all tensed up like this?" Gwaine asked after they chug the first shot.

"I screwed up, Gwaine," Merlin admitted, contrite. "Arthur’s furious. He doesn't even want to talk to me anymore!"

"Hey, calm down. Start from the beginning."

"I sent him into a meeting this afternoon telling him he would be meeting with a potential client when in fact he was going to meet Odin."

"Oh shit," Gwaine grimaced in sympathy. "This is bad."

"No, but listen, Gwaine, it's been months since Arthur last answered to the man’s calls!" Merlin defended himself. "Odin's secretary calls two to three times a day, every fucking day, you see? And it's me who has to cover up for him because Arthur simply refuses to pick up! I ran out of bloody excuses, I–"

"Hey, Merlin, calm down!" Gwaine said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm not judging you, quite the opposite, in fact! If it was me who had to keep making excuses for the Princess, I probably wouldn't have waited months to do something like that, you can rest assured."

Merlin groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Oh, Gwaine, I'm so fucked! He’ll sack me for this, I’m sure."

"Pfff... Arthur? Sacking you? Merlin, he wouldn't survive a day without you."

"Oh, of course," Merlin said wryly. "After all, it's not like anyone could buy coffee for him every day and pick up his phone calls. I'm just his fucking personal assistant, I'm not irreplaceable!"

"You're not just his personal assistant, Merlin. You're the one who keeps him on the line. No one else is able to throw shit in his face like you. No one he takes seriously, I mean."

"And does he take me seriously by any means? I still have that ridiculous hat he told me to wear the first day, saying it was part of my uniform!"

Gwaine laughed, shaking his head, and Merlin stared at him reproachfully.

"Sorry! That was hilarious!" Gwaine said, pouring another shot for both of them. "If it's any consolation, Arthur is mad at me, too."

It was no consolation at all, since Arthur was always mad at Gwaine for some reason or other, but Merlin chose not to say anything, merely swallowing his shot with a grimace.

"And it looks like we're not the only ones!" Gwaine said, showing his phone’s screen to Merlin, where there was a message from Leon asking if Arthur had already arrived and if he looked angry.

"You don't understand, Gwaine," Merlin insisted whimpering. "Arthur isn't the kind of guy who does the silent treatment. He never let's half an hour go by without sending me a text asking for something or yelling at me for some silly reason, but he didn't answer any of my texts and my calls are going straight to voicemail!"

At that precise moment the bell rang and Merlin jumped to his feet, cursing and looking around, as if searching for an escape route.

Gwaine laughed again, shaking his head. "Hey, my windows have bars so no use trying to jump over them!" He said, amused. He opened the door, then. "Elyan, Lance! There you are."

Only then did Merlin allow himself to relax, sitting down again.

"Is Arthur here?" It was the first thing Elyan asked before entering.

"It's alright, the coast is clear, you can come in safely," Gwaine said, pointing to the kitchen. "There's beer in the fridge and tequila on the counter."

"I'll go with the tequila," Elyan said.

"Me too," said Lance, following Elyan as Merlin and Gwaine stared at each other in surprise.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked Elyan.

"Well, I may have let it slip to Gwen that Arthur found her new haircut weird."

"Ouch," Gwaine cringed in sympathy.

"Oh, so that's why she spent an hour in Arthur's office this morning?" Merlin said. He had became very good at pretending not to hear her shouts through the thin walls after all this time working for Arthur. "Well, that explains why he told me to scrub his keyboard with a toothbrush before leaving for lunch. God, I'm so fired!" Merlin groaned, leaning forward over the counter and resting his head on his crossed arms.

Ignoring Merlin’s drama, Gwaine turned to Lance. "And how about you?"

Lance chug his tequila like a pro, without even grimacing. He shook his head then, pouring himself another shot without saying a word.

When it became clear that Lance wasn't going to answer any time soon, Elyan put a hand on his friend's shoulder in support as he addressed the others. "Do you remember that event in Paris at the end of last year? The one that Gwen and Lance had to attend last minute?"

Merlin straightened at that mention. If he remembered? It was after that event that Gwen broke up with Arthur. Their relationship had been quite shaken for some time, and Gwen was furious when Arthur named her last minute to represent the company at the event, and not even the fact that Lance had volunteered to help her had made her feel less resentful about Arthur's attitude. Merlin shuddered as he remembered Arthur's foul mood the following weeks.

"Well," Elyan continued after a pause, "apparently Arthur found out that only one of the hotel rooms booked by the company was occupied that night."

It was Lance's turn to groan, pouring himself another drink.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed at the implications. He had made the second room reservations himself, since Lance's decision to accompany Gwen had been made last minute.

"Wait, but Arthur and Gwen were still dating, at the time, weren't they?" Gwaine asked, getting a pinch from Elyan. "Hey!"

Elyan merely stared at him reproachfully, nodding toward Lance, who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Gwaine sighed. "Hey, Lance, don't be like this..." He tried to mend things up, but his phone rang and he picked it up after a quick check to it's screen. "Where are you, Percy? We could make good use of a sensible guy like you around here!" He sighed, then. "You too? No, Arthur hasn't come yet." He rolled his eyes. "Ok, we're waiting with a bot... I mean, half a bottle of tequila."

Leon showed up next, and he didn't need much encouragement to confess that Arthur had caught him in Morgana's office in a very compromising situation.

"How compromising, exactly?" Gwaine nudged, making Leon moan and bury his face in his hands. "That bad, huh?" Gwaine patted him on the back, offering the only comfort he knew how to give: alcohol.

"But it's no secret that the two of them are shagging, right?" Elyan asked, addressing the group.

"Well, apparently, Arthur was oblivious to it until now," Gwaine shrugged. “He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to keeping up with Morgana’s love life.”

Percy was the next to come, and his testimony shed some light on some of that afternoon's events, as he confessed to dropping Arthur's phone from the tenth-floor window. How he had accomplished that feat was a mystery, since people hardly opened windows at the company's building.

"When did that happen?" Gwaine asked, frowning.

"Right after lunch." Percy said. “Why?”

Gwaine merely faced Merlin suggestively.

"That doesn't mean he's not mad at me," Merlin said, unable to allow himself to have hope. "It just means he had no way of expressing it."

"Well, at least now you know you're not alone," Lance said with a sad smile which made him look like a guilt-ridden heartthrob that came right out of a Mexican soap opera.

When Mordred arrived, the others started peppering him with questions before he could say “Hello”.

"What?" The boy asked, eyes round with confusion. "What do you mean, what did I do?"

"What did you do to spite Arthur?" Gwaine insisted.

Mordred frowned. "Nothing, as far as I know."

Merlin blew the air out of his nose. Mordred was the youngest of the group, having been admitted to the company only a few months ago. With his innocent looks and boyish face, he had infiltrated the group without anyone noticing, until Arthur discovered he was an Arsenal fan and invited him to watch the game at his place with the others. After that, it was official: Mordred was one of them. Merlin tried not to resent the boy – after all, he had been the youngest of the group before Mordred's arrival, and no matter how much it annoyed him when the others treated him like a child, deep down he liked when they protected him as if they were his big brothers – but the truth was he felt jealous of Mordred. Especially when it came to Arthur, who seemed especially fond of the boy.

Maybe Arthur was just waiting for an opportunity like that to fire Merlin and put Mordred in his place. The thought made Merlin growl inside.

"Come on, there must be something. There's always something," Gwaine insisted. "No one will judge you around here, believe me."

Mordred merely shrugged, nonchalant.

"Lucky bastard," Elyan said and the others grunted their agreement.

"Gwaine, I think a second bottle’s in order," Leon said, pouring himself some more tequila.

"Hold on." Gwaine gazed thoughtfully at his guests. "I have an idea."

A general murmur of complaint followed those words.

"No, listen," Gwaine insisted, "how about we place a bet? Anyone who can make Arthur forgive and forget the quickest takes everything. "

"You're joking, right?" Percy asked, arching an eyebrow. "Arthur’s the most spiteful person I've ever met! He can hold resentment for the most stupid reasons for  _ years _ ! Remember that friendly game against Mercia in college?"

They all started to talk at the same time. Merlin sighed and excused himself to the toilet while they argued, confident that they'd never reach an agreement over this. To his surprise, however, when he came back the pool was already set and everyone seemed to be excited about their odds.

"I’ll tell you what," Gwaine said in response to a question. "Mordred will be our judge. That's the one you should impress, boys. Be creative! Everyone in?"

The others nodded their agreement; even Lance, who didn't look very committed to it, in Merlin's opinion.

"Merlin?" Gwaine asked, sounding excited.

"No thanks."

"Why not?"

Merlin shrugged. "Because there's nothing I can do to make Arthur forgive me this time."

"Come on, Merlin," Elyan said, turning to face him. "Did you happen to hear anything that was said here? I doubt your situation is worse than Leon's or Lance's!" He patted Lance on the back when he wailed in regret. "What was it that you did, again?"

"I fooled him into meeting with Odin."

"Oh shit," Elyan said, and the others cringed in sympathy.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try," Percy said. "It can't get any worse, can it?"

"But I'm flat broke!" Merlin insisted.

"One more reason for you to want in!" Gwaine argued. "If you win, you take it all!"

Before Merlin could respond, however, the doorbell rang and everyone tensed up. The heavy silence that followed was interrupted by the bell ringing again, and the noise spread uninterruptedly when the newcomer refused to take his finger off the button.

With a curse, Gwaine hurried to answer the door. "Hey, Arthur!" He said, slipping an arm over the blonde's shoulders as he pulled him inside. "We were all looking forward to your arrival!"

"I have my doubts," Arthur said, his eyes passing from one guilty face to another.

When his eyes met Merlin's, the boy felt his guts twist in knots and he curled in on himself as if trying to hide behind the counter.

"Come on, sit down!" Gwaine said, leading Arthur into the living room. "I’ve been saving a bottle of your favorite whiskey, just for you," he said, already pouring a drink from a bottle that had practically materialized in his hand and handing the glass to Arthur, who stared at him with narrowed eyes and flared nostrils. "You know, I was just remembering our high school days," Gwaine tossed his hair back, a crooked smile on his face, looking unfazed before Arthur's furious gaze. "Remember when Vivian's parents went out on vacation and you told your father you’d be crashing at mine when in fact you were planning on sleeping over at Vivian's? You failed to give me a heads up, of course, but I was never one to blame you for thinking with the wrong head, mind. Yet, when Uther called my home that evening and asked about you, I realized what was happening and backed you up in a heartbeat!" Gwaine laughed, shaking his head. "Remember?"

"I remember," Arthur said, accepting the glass of whiskey. "I also remember my father taking me to run a toxicology test the next day because you said I had passed out on your couch and you couldn't wake me up for the world."

Gwaine's smile faltered. "Well, what did you expect me to do? He wanted me to put you on the phone!"

"Well, you could have said that I was, I don't know, taking a shower, for example, or something that didn’t imply I had drunk myself into an alcoholic coma," Arthur said, glaring at him while emptying his whiskey glass.

"That's the good stuff, isn't it?" Gwaine changed tactics, pointing at the drink. "And expensive too. I was saving it especially for you."

"You could have saved up to get my Jaguar fixed, after you crushed it into a tree because you were too busy flirting with some girls running down the street!" Arthur snapped, pouring himself another dose of whiskey. "And spare your excuses," he said as Gwaine opened his mouth again. "If you don't hand me the money, you won't be getting any paychecks for the next few months."

"But ... It's a Jaguar!"

"Pardon me, let me rephrase it then: you won't be getting any paychecks for the next few  _ years _ ! And you," Arthur turned to Percy next, ignoring Gwaine's shocked expression, "will make sure to buy me a new phone."

It was Percy's turn to make his attempt at appeasing his boss, then. And so on, one by one, they used whatever skills they saw fit for the task at hand, resorting to blunt ass-kissing, calling for the everlasting friendship between them and, when it all failed, making desperate threats. All in vain. Arthur was relentless and didn't give in even when Elyan hinted that he could let more compromising things slip to Gwen. Merlin stopped paying attention when Leon promised to name his eldest son with Morgana after Arthur and concentrated on trying to go unnoticed as he finished with the bottle of tequila.

Not that there was much left, anyway.

Merlin didn't want to think about what would become of him if Arthur really sacked him. It wasn't that he was so well paid, but his salary wasn't bad for a simple PA. Let alone one like him, who had no coordination skills and had a terrible memory for names, numbers and dates. Merlin kept forgetting important dates, delaying urgent errands, spilling his drink – or Arthur's – onto irreplaceable documents... Merlin knew that if he lost this job, he could hardly get another this good.

Not to mention that he would miss Arthur.

As much as Arthur treated him worse than an underdog sometimes, and Merlin often felt like spitting in his tea and punching that snobbish nose of his – especially when he texted him at two in the morning to ask if Merlin had remembered to water his office's plants and Merlin had to muffle curses into his pillow for his own sanity's sake – Merlin had learned to respect Arthur, and at times he thought perhaps it went both ways.

And, of course, there was also the fact that Merlin was hopelessly in love with his boss.

Not that there was any chance of reciprocation. After all, Arthur was straight and still hadn't moved on all the way after Gwen, even though it had been more than six months since they had broken up. Still, it wasn't as if Merlin had chosen to fall in love or as if he had any hopes of something happening between them someday. He just liked being able to see Arthur everyday – "What're you looking at? Don't you have work to do?" – to listen to his voice – "Why are you always so annoyingly happy in the morning, Merlin? This is so irritating and... disrespectful! No one should sound so cheerful this early in the morning!" – read his special texts – "Have you taken my clothes to the laundry facilities yet?" And "Where did you hid my favorite mug Merlin? I swear I'll rip your balls off if you broke this one too." And "Don't forget to water the plants! It was your idea to bring plants to the office, in the first place! The least you can do is care for them now." And so on and so forth.

Besides all that, as Gwaine had said, Arthur wouldn't survive a day without a PA. After all, if Arthur really did kick him out, who would handle his last minute appointments – "Merlin, why the hell didn't you remind me it's Gwen's birthday today? Call that French restaurant and book a table for two tonight. And I don't care if they have waiting list for a month. Find a way!" – make sure he’s well fed and healthily so – "Are you calling me fat, Merlin? So what if I've had fast food all week? It's Friday and I want burger and chips on my desk in fifteen minutes!" – look after his good looks – "Of course I didn't leave home like this, Merlin. The wind crooked my tie during the ride here. By the way, why don't you do something useful and straighten it out at once? Can’t you see I'm driving?" – or even persuade him to go home at a passable hour by the end of the day – "Why, Merlin, do you think everyone is as lazy as you are, leaving the office before eight o'clock without a care about the unfinished work?".

"Honestly, one doesn't need to have enemies with such friends as the lot of you!" Arthur scolded, at some point, pulling Merlin out of his thoughts. "Except for you, Mordred, of course. And how about you, Merlin. Aren't you going to say anything?"

Merlin was startled to notice Arthur marching toward him, his face contorted with anger.

"You think I forgot what you did? And don't even think that–"

Merlin acted on impulse alone, moved by sheer panic. He jumped to his feet and met Arthur halfway. As Percy had said, there wasn’t much Merlin could do to make this worse for himself, so why not give it a try? All he wished was for Arthur to stop yelling at him, so he pressed his lips to Arthur's, effectively shutting him up.

It wasn't exactly a kiss. It was too fast, too clumsy. Too scary. Heart pounding, Merlin took a quick step back to evaluate the damage.

Arthur's brow was furrowed, his eyes round, his mouth hanging open in stupefaction. Deafened by the pounding of his own heart, Merlin watched as Arthur's face flushed – in fury perhaps? Of was it embarrassment?

"What the–" Arthur started again, but Merlin didn't allow him to finish his sentence, framing his face in both hands and kissing him again. "Hm!" Arthur exclaimed, placing his hands heavily on Merlin's shoulders.

Holding his breath, Merlin prepared to be pushed away, but the moment never came and the urgency to breathe forced Merlin to pull away again – as far as his own arms as well as Arthur's allowed –, staring at him fearfully and maybe with a tiny little bit of hope.

The seconds crawled as they stared at each other, eye to eye. Arthur was still flushed, but his forehead didn’t look as creased as before, his eyebrows tilting questioningly. When he spoke again, his voice was no longer so loud and heavy with anger as before. "Merlin, what–"

Merlin kissed him again, sliding his hands to the back of Arthur's head to keep him from pulling away and smacking his own lips against Arthur’s. Arthur parted his lips with a gasp and Merlin sucked his bottom lip in. The next moment, Arthur was grabbing Merlin’s clothes in a vice grip and drawing him closer, responding to the kiss with urgency. Merlin let out a cry of surprise as Arthur took control of the kiss, attacking his lips gently but hungrily.

"Hey!" Someone said, outraged.

"Is this allowed?" Someone else asked.

"This is cheating!"

"Why didn't I think of that!"

Merlin couldn’t care less about who said what. All that mattered was that he was kissing Arthur! And something in the way Arthur grabbed the back of Merlin's neck said he didn’t want it to end too soon either. Not that Merlin was going to complain. Especially when the tip of Arthur's tongue asked for passage. Merlin moaned, opening his mouth in an invitation and curling his own tongue around Arthur’s.

"My eyes!"

"Is this really happening?"

"Are we going to have to throw cold water at them so they can let go?"

"Hey, get a room, you two!"

"Does anyone have a decent camera?"

Arthur's mouth tasted of whiskey and had the power to make Merlin's thoughts incoherent. Especially when Arthur did that thing with his tongue, which made Merlin's toes curl. Merlin felt Arthur's fingernails scratching at his nape before pulling the short strands of his hair there and practically purred.

"Guys, I think we have a winner!"

"Oh really."

"There goes ten bucks..."

"Okay, since those two aren’t going to untangle their limbs and tongues any time soon, how about we watch the match somewhere else?"

"There’s a pub close by–"

"Do we really have to go?"

After a little commotion, everything went silent, except for the sound of the telly in the background, Merlin’s content sighs and the little endearing sounds that escaped Arthur's throat. Merlin allowed Arthur to guide him a few steps back until his calves hit the couch and then they fell back on it, Arthur over Merlin, lading soft kisses on Merlin’s jaw and neck before reattaching their mouths. Merlin couldn’t tell how much time had passed when they finally parted to catch their breaths, staring eye to eye.

"Where is everyone?" Arthur asked, looking around with a frown. "The match is about to start!"

"Hm, I think I heard someone mention something about watching the game in a pub," Merlin offered, biting his lower lip. "Do you want to go too?"

Arthur considered the question for a moment, his eyes lingering over Merlin's face without haste. His lips were swollen and his cheeks were flushed, his breath still uneven. "It feels good in here. Quite comfortable." He settled more comfortably between Merlin's legs after saying that.

Merlin felt his face go hot. "Fine by me," he shrugged.

Arthur's eyes narrowed suddenly. "But don’t go thinking I forgot what you did," he warned.

Merlin swallowed, apprehensive. "Are you going to fire me then?"

"Of course not! Why would I fire you without making you pay for it first?"

Merlin forced a resigned sigh even though he was actually relieved. "Alright, how about this," he proposed, "you pretend to forgive me and we split the pool money."

"What pool? What money?"

Merlin pointed to the coffee table, where the others had piled a few teners before they left. Arthur raised an eyebrow at Merlin, looking suspicious and impressed at the same time.

"So? Do we have a deal?" Merlin pressed, raising his head from the couch to run the tip of his nose down Arthur's throat.

Arthur murmured in appreciation, gasping as Merlin scratched his teeth at the soft skin next to his ear. "Counter proposal," he said, "you keep the money and agree to go out with me tomorrow."

Merlin let his head fall on the couch again, startled. "On a date?" He asked, just to be sure.

"Yes." Arthur cupped Merlin's face, bending down until their lips were inches apart. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes!" Merlin gasped and Arthur kissed him again.

.The End.


End file.
